Neither. I live in a cold climate so tile is a no-no for me (I hate tile...but that's just me). And wood in a basement *can be done but it has SOOOOO many requirements that I would prefer a decent cork floating floor for the warmth (carpets are icky).

Carpets in basements are often used because they 'breathe' and they are warm. Many people do not like carpet so they go with something else.

Please tell us a bit more about the situation: age of the house, current flooring, needs/wants of the household, etc.

Thanks it’s a 15 year old home. I’m looking to finish it starting with XPS foam insulation and gypsum drywall. Then move onto flooring.

Where are you located? Are you in a hot climate? If so, tile is fully acceptable. If you are in a cold or temperate climate then wood is more acceptable underfoot in a basement.

Northeast PA. So I guess it’s pretty cold. Climate zone 6

I'm in Vancouver BC, so we are in the same 'temperate' climate. Tiles are SUPER cold and loud. Unless you want to add in-floor radiant heat (to take the chill off the feet...not heat the room) you can work with tile. Adding in-floor radiant heat will increase the costs by $8-$10/sf.

What does your concrete look like? Do you have photos? What is your budget for subfloor preparation?

I have sealed the basement floor with a basement sealer. I’m calling an HVAC specialist to see my heating options.

What's your floor's flatness rating? Wood needs (as well as laminate, vinyl, cork floating flooring, etc) a flatness rating of 3mm over 3m (3/16" over 10ft). You will need a 10ft level to measure how wavy the concrete is.

Ok good to know. I may just go the tile route in this case. I’m seeing people use a dimple subfloor for extra protection as well.

Dimpled moisture protection rolls are beasts to deal with. Just so you know. And if you want to go with tile, you need to either REMOVE the concrete paint or you need to prime it to get everything to bond to it. Sigh.

And be careful when using two moisture protection systems at the same time (the roll on stuff and the dimpled product). Sometimes you can make a situation worse if you use a double moisture barrier. It *can be done...but you must be careful doing it (that's where learning the entire flooring industry + concrete slab industry comes in handy).

A dimpled subfloor system requires a subfloor over top (more money + more labour + more everything) to get tile down or even engineered hardwood. These dimpled systems *sound great but they make things MUCH MORE complicated then they need to be.

The more complicated you get...the more complete your knowledge must become. For a permanent floor (like tile or nail/glue down wood) you must secure the dimpled system to the concrete using tapcons. Do you know what those are? If you don't, you might want to skip the dimpled system. They are "OK" for laminate or floating floors (but not if they have an attached underlayment...sigh) but not much else.

Ok thanks SJ. What would you recommend for a simple floor installation in this case?

Because you have painted on the sealer, in theory there is nothing else to do but lay the floor.

Except....vinyl doesn't like other chemicals. It is *possible (I'm not sure....you better check) the sealant could possibly leach through the thinner vinyls and stain it from underneath. A higher quality vinyl with a small amount of cork on the bottom could deal with this issue.

But you still have to check for level.

If you MUST have a thermal break, it is easier to work with DriCore panels (on the foam ones...the plastic ones). You can then lay any vinyl you want on top.

But that means you have to address the stairs and 'code' requirements. Sigh...